How did patriarchy actually begin?

In 1930, when London Zoo announced its baboon enclosure would be closing down, the story made headlines.

For years, "Monkey Hill", as it was known, had been the scene of bloody violence and frequent fatalities. The US news magazine Time reported on the incident that proved to be the final straw: "George, a young member of the baboon colony, had stolen a female belonging to the 'king,' the oldest, largest baboon of Monkey Hill." After a tense siege, George ended up killing her.

Monkey Hill cast a long shadow over how animal experts imagined male domination. Its murderous primates reinforced a popular myth at the time that humans were a naturally patriarchal species. For zoo visitors, it felt as though they might be peering into our evolutionary past, one in which naturally violent males had always victimised weaker females.